Runaway
by leopardlady90
Summary: Merlin falls unconscious during a battle and Arthur rushes to his side. Deff Slash. Total cuteness and hurt!Merlin


**Hey Peeps!**

**Didn't write the outline to this but thought it was such a cute story that I had to change the fandoms! So thanks to Havah Kninny for the original!**

"Merlin!" Arthur's eyes widened as he saw Merlin fall to the ground. Morgana had sent a large pole flying at the brunette boy, hitting him square in the head. Arthur fell to his knees beside Merlin, instantly checking for breathing and a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief as he realized that both were present, but a few taps to the shoulder let Arthur know that his boyfriend was unconscious.

There was too much going on around them for it to be safe to stay there, and Arthur was worried that, with Merlin unconscious, it was would be easy for someone to barge in and kill them. Arthur knew that he should stay in the battle, that he should fight for the protection of Camelot instead of running, but he couldn't let Merlin die, he loved him too much. He grabbed the boy's wrist and hoisted him over his shoulder, launching both himself and Merlin into the forest. Arthur didn't stop until he was sure they were far from harm's way. He landed softly, pulling Merlin into his lap.

"Merlin," he whispered, putting his hand to the boy's cheek. "Merlin, baby, wake up." He gulped, hoping that Merlin's condition wasn't getting worse. A blow to the head like that was not a good sign, even Arthur, who had little medical experience save for basic first aid, could tell that Merlin was lucky to be alive.

Merlin remained limp in Arthur's arms, and with every second that he didn't wake up, Arthur became more and more worried that Merlin was not going to survive. He knew that just getting him away from the battle field wasn't enough to save his life, and he knew that Merlin nowhere near out of the woods yet. Literally.

"Please!" Arthur begged, shaking Merlin's arm. "Please, Merlin, wake up! PLEASE!" He began to cry softly, his tears falling on Merlin's face, though they still did not wake the boy. Arthur held him, just sitting there, clinging to his unconscious boyfriend, for almost a full hour before Merlin finally came to.

"Arthur?" Merlin mumbled, his eyes fluttering open.

"Oh my god, Merlin!" Arthur looked down, keeping the boy as steady as possible. "Are you alright?"

"My head hurts." Merlin sighed, flopping back in Arthur's arms. "What happened?"

"You took a blow to the head," Arthur whispered, kissing Merlin's forehead. "It knocked you out, so I brought you here where you'd be safer."

"Oh." He nodded, biting his lip. "Thank you."

"Of course!" Arthur let out a sigh of relief as another tear rolled down his cheek.

"Hey, hey…" Merlin reached up, wiping away the tear on Arthur's face. "Don't cry for me, okay? I'm fine, see?" He smiled gently.

"I know, I know." Arthur nodded. "I just…I thought…you were unconscious for a long time, Merlin, I thought that maybe I was going to lose you."

"Oh don't' be silly." Merlin looked up at Arthur, shaking his head. "If you think you're going to be able to get rid of me that easily, you must be delusional."

"Oh." Arthur couldn't help but let out a small laugh, grinning as he did so. "I'm so glad, Merlin. I'm so glad that you're alive." He leaned down, kissing Merlin gently, letting out a soft sigh as their lips made contact.

"I'm glad I'm alive too." Merlin grinned as Arthur pulled back. "Because that was one hell of a kiss, and I'd hate to have missed it by being dead."

"How can you take this so lightly?" Arthur sighed. "I saw that pole hit you, you should be dead, you're so lucky to be alive at all and you're acting like you barely skinned your knee."

"I know." Merlin nodded. "But I also know that if I freak out, you'll freak out, and I think you've already had enough of that for today, judging by the fact that we're in the middle of vacant clearing probably several miles from the fight we're both supposed to be at."

"I'm sorry." Arthur hung his head. "But I just couldn't leave you there…really, I couldn't. I don't know, maybe I'm just not strong enough for being King, but I couldn't put everyone else in front of you, I love you too much."

"You know what?" Merlin shook his head. "That's just a different kind of strength, Arthur. Sometimes we have to fight for the greater good, but sometimes it's good enough to fight for what we need, to fight for what we hope to god we deserve, and I hope to god that I deserve you, because I'd be dead without you, many times over."

"You deserve me," Arthur whispered. "And even if you didn't, I'd still love you more than anything, and I'd still put you before the rest of the world. You mean everything to me, Merlin."

"Good to know you'd let everything burn just to save me," Merlin teased.

"Shut up." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Besides, I know you'd do the same for me."

"You've got me there." Merlin sat up, putting his hands on Arthur's cheek, kissing him softly. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Arthur nodded, kissing Merlin back. Maybe his priorities were a bit mixed up, but he wouldn't have them any other way.


End file.
